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drmorr

@drmorr.appliedcomputing.io
155 followers 105 following 1.1K posts

Optimizer. Photographer. In disbelief that computers actually work. Accidentally writing a role-playing game. (he/him) hachyderm.io/@drmorr

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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 29/09/2026
Last week we kicked off our blog series about the five key metrics you should be monitoring for your autoscaler. This week, we dive into the first of these, "committed capacity". But wait! There's more, and it involves.... DaemonSets *wiggly scary fingers* blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/key-autosc...
blog.appliedcomputing.io
Key Autoscaling Metric #1: Workload Committed Capacity
At ACRL, we get to talk to a lot of clusters… I mean people.
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 25/09/2026
Hi bsky-ians! I rarely interact or do anything over here; mostly I just post links to my blog. All of my professional shit-posting happens over on Mastodon. But anyways follow along if you like! Here's my mastodon profile too if you care: hachyderm.io/@drmorr
hachyderm.io
drmorr (@drmorr@hachyderm.io)
6.29K Posts, 184 Following, 302 Followers · Optimizer. Photographer. In disbelief that computers actually work. Accidentally writing a role-playing game. (he/him)
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 25/09/2026
I am channeling all of my rage about this into the new blog post I'm writing with my 100% tiny human meat brain. Good luck humanity.
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 25/09/2026
Welp just got my 100%-human written blog posts kicked off of r/kubernetes because they're "LLM slop". Cool cool cool. Love getting accused of cheating, lying, and being lazy all in the same sentence, it's my fav.
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 22/09/2026
Also as a reminder, becoming a paid subscriber to my blog is one of the ways you can help support our conference attendance, which in turn helps keep us in business! If you like what we do please consider subscribing!
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 22/09/2026
So in this series, we're going to be talking about what metrics you SHOULD be monitoring for your autoscaler and why nobody actually monitors those metrics.
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 22/09/2026
I've heard from a lot of different folks that "autoscaling isn't sexy" and "it's not that hard to do", which -- speaking as someone who's been specializing in autoscaling for a decade or so -- is clearly incorrect.
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 22/09/2026
In the lead-up to KubeCon NA, we're publishing a blog series on Autoscaling in Kubernetes called "The Five Key Autoscaling Metrics". blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/five-key-a... #kubernetes #kubecon #devops #autoscaling
blog.appliedcomputing.io
Five key autoscaling metrics for Kubernetes
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to chat with Courtney Nash at SREcon, and one of the things she reminded me is that “it’s OK to say that you’re an expert”.
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 14/09/2026
Introducing a new blog series called "Dr. Morr says NO!" This one's about using unitless 'priority' values to signal intent in distributed systems. Don't do it, it's a trap! blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/dear-kuber... #kubernetes #k8s #distributedsystems #drmorrsaysno
blog.appliedcomputing.io
Dear Kubernetes: You need to get your priorities straight
Editor’s note: I’ve been informed that the introduction to this post is convoluted and confusing.
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 12/09/2026
OK I spent WAYYYYYYYY too long making the header image for my latest blog post, and I also immediately also put in a sticker order.
Comic-book style green text on a red-and-orange "burst" background saying "Dr. Morr Says 'NO!'"
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 31/08/2026
I've had a lot of other things going on so I haven't been able to write as much as I wanted this last month, but this post comes out swinging! I hope you enjoy reading it more than I enjoy working with Bazel. blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/bazels-ux-...
blog.appliedcomputing.io
Bazel's UX is really, really, really bad
Hi friends!
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 04/08/2026
In this week's post, I talk about Karpenter, scheduling, bin-packing, and why it's all a giant can of worms. Enjoy! blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/karpenters... #kubernetes #karpenter #k8s
blog.appliedcomputing.io
Karpenter's consolidation behaviour is counter-intuitive
OK, this story starts off with a colleague messaging me at 9am on a Tuesday morning: “Hey, drmorr, Karpenter is behaving a little bit strangely in this cluster, could you take a quick look?”
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 27/07/2026
Anyways, I had fun with this one! Take a look and play around with it if you want. It's in Rust, of course. Next week (probably) I will write a blog post to describe it in more detail.
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 27/07/2026
sk-spark is part of the SimKube suite of tools; it's useful for simulating the behaviour of Spark on top of Kubernetes, together with Karpenter as a node autoscaler. The question it's designed to answer is "how does Karpenter's consolidation behaviour impact the success rate of Spark jobs?"
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 27/07/2026
Heyyyy you guuuuiiiiiise I decided one Kubernetes simulator wasn't enough so last week I wrote another one. github.com/acrlabs/sk-s...
github.com
GitHub - acrlabs/sk-spark: Discrete event simulator for Kubernetes spark jobs
Discrete event simulator for Kubernetes spark jobs - acrlabs/sk-spark
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 22/07/2026
Last week my colleague Ian O'Gorman spent wayyyyy too much time debugging issues in our CI pipeline. That's a good 400 hours of his life he's never getting back. But, hey, at least he got to write a blog post about it! Buckle up, it's a banger! blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/the-seven-...
blog.appliedcomputing.io
The Seven Stages of CI Grief
On the pain scale, a root canal might be an eight.
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 08/07/2026
The last couple weeks I was on vacation in Korea and Japan, but my coworker Ian wrote a blog post about improving the KWOK behaviour in SimKube! blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/worth-the-... #kubernetes #k8s #kwok #simkube
blog.appliedcomputing.io
Worth the Wait: Making SimKube Pod Startup More Realistic
If you’re detail-oriented, skeptical, or just enjoy watching Pod transitions in your spare time, you may have noticed a peculiar behavior in SimKube: Pods transition to Running very quickly.
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 16/06/2026
Oops, I got mad and wrote a bonus blog post this week. Maybe ignore it if you also don't want to get mad. blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/stop-accus...
blog.appliedcomputing.io
Stop accusing people of cheating with LLMs
This is a bonus post for the week, because I’m frustrated and mad.
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 15/06/2026
This week's blog post is about the work that my students at Harvey Mudd College did to turn SimKube into a reinforcement learning arena for AI agents! blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/simarena-a...
blog.appliedcomputing.io
SimArena: A reinforcement learning arena for training autonomous Kubernetes AI agents
Happy June, everybody!
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 08/06/2026
ACRL is turning 3, and drmorr is turning an age greater than 3!!! blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/acrl-is-tu...
blog.appliedcomputing.io
ACRL is turning 3 (and also drmorr is turning an age greater than 3)
It is kind of wild to me that ACRL was founded 3 years ago; in June of 2023 I stepped out on this crazy adventure and I had no idea where it was going to go or how long it would last, but here we are,...
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 01/06/2026
(By the way, we're starting our KubeCon planning already, and becoming a paid subscriber to the blog is one of the ways you can help support our KubeCon attendance in the fall!)
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 01/06/2026
Also, I just got back from a strategy planning session with a bunch of folks in Portland, and next week's post (available to paid subscribers today) is all about what you can expect from ACRL over the next year! You won't want to miss that one. blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/acrl-is-tu...
blog.appliedcomputing.io
ACRL is turning 3 (and also drmorr is turning an age greater than 3)
It is kind of wild to me that ACRL was founded 3 years ago; in June of 2023 I stepped out on this crazy adventure and I had no idea where it was going to go or how long it would last, but here we are,...
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 01/06/2026
This week's post is about all the ways that bare Kubernetes pods are weird. blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/bare-pods-... #kubernetes #k8s #simkube
blog.appliedcomputing.io
Naked pods are Weird, Man
I’ve been doing some work with SimKube for a client recently and have run into a bunch of issues with SimKube fixed regarding its handling of bare Kubernetes pods.
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 26/05/2026
A reminder: we're trying to get to around $5k in paid subscription revenue on the blog. Right now we're hovering at just under $1k. If you like the things we're posting, please consider signing up for a paid subscription!
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 26/05/2026
I have a quick post about all the ways that bare pods are weird in Kubernetes; currently available for paid subscribers, will open to free subscribers next week! blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/bare-pods-... #kubernetes #k8s #simkube
blog.appliedcomputing.io
Bare pods are Weird, Man
I’ve been doing some work with SimKube for a client recently and have run into a bunch of issues with SimKube fixed regarding its handling of bare Kubernetes pods.
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 11/05/2026
Today's blog post is about all the techniques I can think of to mock Rust code: blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/all-the-wa... #rustlang #testing #software
blog.appliedcomputing.io
All the ways to mock your Rust code
Ok, so, suppose you’ve written a Kubernetes controller, you did it in Rust, and then you realized that “Hey, when this thing breaks it’s hard to understand what’s going on”. So, you decide to emit som...
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 05/05/2026
In case you missed it, this is my SRECon recap, featuring all of my favorite talks! blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/srecon-202...
blog.appliedcomputing.io
SRECon 2026 Recap
Last month I had the pleasure of going to SRECon 2026 Americas in Seattle; I realized that I posted the transcript of my talk but I didn’t actually do a recap of the conference itself, so I’m going to...
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 27/04/2026
I am trying to increase my paid subscription revenue for the blog to $5000/year; this helps us attend conferences, which are our primary source for new business. So the blog doesn't directly pay the bills, but it does help us keep doing what we're doing. blog.appliedcomputing.io/subscribe
blog.appliedcomputing.io
Subscribe to Applied Computing Research Labs
Open-source research and development in distributed systems. Click to read Applied Computing Research Labs, by drmorr, a Substack publication.
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 27/04/2026
I also have a recap of SRECon up for paid subscribers, it will become public next Monday! blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/srecon-202... #srecon
blog.appliedcomputing.io
SRECon 2026 Recap
Last month I had the pleasure of going to SRECon 2026 Americas in Seattle; I realized that I posted the transcript of my talk but I didn’t actually do a recap of the conference itself, so I’m going to...
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 27/04/2026
It's new content Monday! My article about SKEL (the SimKube Expression Language) is now available and all you PLT nerds can check it out. blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/introducin... #simkube #kubernetes #plt
blog.appliedcomputing.io
Introducing SKEL: The SimKube Expression Language
We just released SimKube 2.5.0, which as I said on Mastodon, feels like a big milestone for mainly “I like round numbers” reasons; but I think this is actually a pretty major release, as it’s the firs...
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Reposted by drmorr
Jayme "Danger" Howard @gimpy.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
This talk features my postmortem of the worst incident I've ever dealt with in production! Excited to get to finally check out the talk.
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Reposted by drmorr
Patrick Richter @nomadsgate.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Simulation testing before upgrades beats changelog roulette every time, though honestly most teams still just wing it and hope the canary doesn't explode.
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 24/04/2026
Are you bored on a Friday afternoon? My SRECon talk, "Stop Reading Changelogs: Safer Kubernetes Upgrades with Simulation" is now up on YouTube. Go watch it! Feels very timely since Kubernetes (checks notes) 1.36 was just released! www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk_P... #srecon #kubernetes #simkube
youtube.com
SREcon26 Americas - Stop Reading Changelogs: Safer Kubernetes Upgrades with Simulation
YouTube video by USENIX
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 20/04/2026
This week's blog post is talking about some programming language design with SimKube.... I know there are some PLT nerds out there, don't make me @ you! Available to paid subscribers this week, free for everyone next week. blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/introducin... #simkube #skel #kubernetes #plt
blog.appliedcomputing.io
Introducing SKEL: The SimKube Expression Language
We just released SimKube 2.5.0, which as I said on Mastodon, feels like a big milestone for mainly “I like round numbers” reasons; but I think this is actually a pretty major release, as it’s the firs...
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 13/04/2026
Free AMI: aws.amazon.com/marketplace/... SimKube GH Action Runner: aws.amazon.com/marketplace/...
aws.amazon.com
AWS Marketplace: Simkube Free AMI
SimKube is a simulation environment for Kubernetes used for cost forecasting, capacity planning, scalability analysis, or more.
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 13/04/2026
If you've wanted an easy way to try out SimKube, you can just use our (free) SimKube AMI, or you can start running SimKube-based simulations in your CI pipeline with our (paid) GitHub action runner. We are already using the action runner in SimKube itself to test SimKube itself!
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 13/04/2026
This week's blog post is from my coworker Ian, talking about ACRL's new offerings on the AWS Marketplace! blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/boy-ami-gl... #simkube #kubernetes #github #cicd
blog.appliedcomputing.io
Boy AMI glad to see you
We’re pleased to announce that two AMIs (Amazon Machine Images) have joined the SimKube family!
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 07/04/2026
* I will not review proposals that have been written by a robot instead of a human, please don't waste my time. Also the CFP specifically says slop proposals are unwelcome and might get you banned, so it won't help you to submit one anyways.
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 07/04/2026
Btw, CFP for kubecon NA is open. Deadline is May 31st. I have never been on the committee, but I have a good track record of getting talks in, and I have a standing offer to review your proposal if you want or need help with it*. Send me a DM! events.linuxfoundation.org/kubecon-clou... #kubecon
events.linuxfoundation.org
Call For Proposals (CFP) | LF Events
KubeCon + CloudNativeCon gathers adopters and technologists from leading open source and cloud native communities from November 9-12. Join our current graduated, incubating, and sandbox projects as…
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 06/04/2026
The second post, available to paid subscribers until next week, talks about our new (very exciting) SimKube AMIs available on the AWS Marketplace! blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/boy-ami-gl... #simkube #ami #aws
blog.appliedcomputing.io
Boy AMI glad to see you
We’re pleased to announce that two AMIs (Amazon Machine Images) have joined the SimKube family!
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 06/04/2026
Two new blog posts today! First is the (now public) transcript from my SRECon talk: "Stop Reading Changelogs: Safer Kubernetes upgrades with simulation" blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/stop-readi... #srecon #kubernetes #k8s
blog.appliedcomputing.io
Stop Reading Changelogs: Safer Kubernetes upgrades with simulation
SRECon 2026 Talk Transcript
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 30/03/2026
I'm trying a new experiment with my blog: all posts will still be public, but I'm going to leave them behind a paywall for a week. As I have mentioned, I'm trying to get a few more paid subscribers to help support ACRL's conference attendance, which is were I'm able to get most of my new leads.
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 30/03/2026
This week's blog post, which is a recap of my SRECon talk from last week, is now available for paid subscribers only, and will be available for free to the general public next Monday! Check it out if you want. blog.appliedcomputing.io/p/stop-readi... #kubernetes #srecon #simkube
blog.appliedcomputing.io
Stop Reading Changelogs: Safer Kubernetes upgrades with simulation
SRECon 2026 Talk Transcript
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 25/03/2026
oh damn -- thanks! Just fixed.
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 25/03/2026
Ok that's over. Lots of great questions and interaction! My slides and other materials are up on GitHub if you want to know more :) github.com/acrlabs/srec... #srecon
github.com
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 25/03/2026
Thanks for the kind words! It was less a "cautionary tale" and more of a "motivating case study", but in any case, it's an excellent postmortem and a fun read :)
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 25/03/2026
My talk at SRECon is in two hours! Come check it out and learn how simulation can help you with your Kubernetes upgrades! #srecon #kubernetes
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 24/03/2026
SRECon first impressions: it is wet. Why is it wet. In Seattle??? In March????? Anyways, as normal I'm going to liveblog along on Mastodon, follow along if you want! hachyderm.io/@drmorr #srecon
hachyderm.io
drmorr (@drmorr@hachyderm.io)
5.58K Posts, 169 Following, 295 Followers · Optimizer. Photographer. In disbelief that computers actually work. Accidentally writing a role-playing game. (he/him)
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 24/03/2026
SRECon first impressions: it is wet. Why is it wet. In Seattle??? In March????? Anyways, as normal I'm going to liveblob along on Mastodon (sorry not sorry, I tried the "liveblog on two platforms at once" thing and it's too hard), follow along if you want! hachyderm.io/@drmorr #srecon
hachyderm.io
drmorr (@drmorr@hachyderm.io)
5.58K Posts, 169 Following, 295 Followers · Optimizer. Photographer. In disbelief that computers actually work. Accidentally writing a role-playing game. (he/him)
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drmorr @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io · 23/03/2026
I know all the cool kids are at KubeCon EU this week, but _this_ cool kid is gonna be at SRECon in Seattle! I'm giving a talk: "Stop Reading Changelogs: Safer Kubernetes Upgrades with Simulation" on Wednesday at 11:55-12:40. Come find me and say hi! Would love to chat. #srecon
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